EXCLUSIVE | 'Success Is Never Accidental': RF Athletics Director James Hillier On The System Behind 88 Medals And 6 National Records

EXCLUSIVE | 'Success Is Never Accidental': RF Athletics Director James Hillier On The System Behind 88 Medals And 6 National Records

In 2025 Reliance Foundation athletes collected 88 medals and six national records, James Hillier, Athletics Director at Reliance Foundation, insists the results are not the product of luck – but of a deliberate, systematic model. From talent identification to competition planning, Hillier lays out a blueprint that is now re-shaping India's athletics landscape.

He speaks to News18 Sports about performance, process, setbacks and the road ahead.

At the start of the year, Reliance Foundation–backed athletes won 43 medals at the National Games, including 12 athletics golds. Did that early success set the tone for what followed – Animesh's World Championship qualification and Gulveer's double later in the year?

I think success is always the end result of a lot of hard work. You always have to go back a couple of steps and look at the quality of athletes in our programme, which has always been the cornerstone of what we do.

We try to bring the best-quality athletes into our programme – athletes with the best trainability, the best mindset, all of that – and then wrap world-class support around them.

When you get those two things right, the results are almost expected. We've kind of become used to winning lots of medals nationally and internationally now. Obviously that's what we're in the business for – it's a results-driven business – but those results come at the end of immense hard work, countless hours, and collaborative teamwork behind the scenes. And then we get the medals at the end, which is lovely.

Animesh has had a remarkable rise – from being relatively unknown in early 2024 to becoming a World Championship qualifier by September 2025. How do you explain that progression?

We've always known Animesh's quality as an athlete. We always knew he had the potential to be really, really good – but it has taken time. It's taken a couple of years of very hard work to reach a point where it looks like he's suddenly breaking through.

But it's not by accident. A lot of foundational work has gone in – from his personal coach Martin and the whole team.

We set a standard a few years ago. Amlan started it all in 2022 when he broke the 200m record, and Animesh was always chasing that. In the first couple of years, he would always come second to Amlan. Now he has learned from Amlan and gone beyond him – which is brilliant. That's what records are for: to be broken and taken to the next level.

The great thing with Animesh is he's raced a huge number of times this year and used those races to learn and develop. He has learned through competition – something that doesn't happen enough in India, and something he has done very well.

He peaked at the right time – winning bronze at the Asian Championships, the first individual men's sprint medal at Asian level for India, and broke the national record as well. You can't ask for more.

He went to the World Championships too, which was fantastic. He is beginning to believe he can compete globally and he's not overawed. He's not afraid of anybody; he just focuses on controlling himself, doing what he's working on, and letting the results come.

And he's now not just a 200m runner – he has the 100m and 200m national records and is becoming a complete sprinter, which is something we've worked very hard towards.

Is Animesh an outlier, or does his rise signal deeper sprinting potential in India?

One of the cornerstones of our programme is ensuring that when our athletes compete, they are the best-prepared athletes in the competition.

We can't guarantee an athlete will be the fastest – because we can't control the level of other athletes – but we can control everything on our side. We control the controllables.

Animesh is doing exactly that. But he's also in an India where he doesn't have everything his own way – especially in the 100m, where there are good athletes pushing him.

This year we had three national records in the 100m. Manikanta nearly broke Animesh's record at the Open Nationals – if not for the headwind, he might have.

Animesh knows these guys are coming for him, which is great for him and great for them. It creates a healthy mix of competition. He cannot just show up at Nationals and win – he has to be focused.

We're in a very healthy position in men's sprints in India now. Animesh has set the bar high; others will chase it. That will push him further and bring others through too.

Next year we need to get the 100m times down to low 10.1s. Hopefully someone pushes him in the 200 as well so he doesn't always have to go to Europe for high-level competition. The 100m will definitely be pushed.

The 4x100m relay quartet broke a 14-year national record this year. What will it take to go under 38.5 seconds?

The relay project is very close to my heart. Seeing the four boys break the longest-standing track record in India was incredibly satisfying.

But we didn't get a medal at the Asian Championships, which was disappointing. We didn't get any silverware this season – that was tough for the boys and for me. I took it personally.

We have to learn from that and be better.

I believe we can run under 38.5 this year. We're on track to make the final in LA. Martin and I spoke about it this morning – with the leg speed we have and athletes who suit relay running, we feel confident.

Chemistry between relay legs is crucial – between first and second, second and third, and so on. We have that.

Our goals are to run under 38.5, be competitive at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and possibly the World Relays if AFI selects the team.

The key challenge is getting four guys fit at the same time.

We won't neglect the individual events – improving the 100m and 200m gives the relay confidence.

We also must be open to selecting athletes who are relay specialists – not necessarily the top four finishers in the 100m. Relay running is a different skill: running hard off a rolling start and baton handling.

We will hold a national relay camp soon with intensive training. Under 38.5 is the benchmark – a truly world-class time that gets you close to global finals, especially if big teams drop batons, which happens often.

Gulveer Singh has had a standout year, including a sub-13 indoor 5000m. What changed for him in 2025?

Gulveer is in a very good environment. He spends much of the year in Colorado training with Scott Simmons – it's a world-class setup. He has thrived there.

Statistically, he is the best athlete in the country. If you convert his indoor 5000m national record – 12:59 – into points, it's better than Neeraj Chopra's 90m throw. Not many people know that, but statistically he is extraordinary.

Running under 13 minutes indoors was stunning. It went under the radar because India doesn't have an indoor culture, but mixing it with Olympic medallists at that pace was incredible.

We were a bit disappointed with his World Championships performance. We've reviewed it and know what we need to work on.

He can run fast – now it's about running fast at the right time. How does he race the Kenyans, Ethiopians, and Ugandans? They run mixed-pace races with fast finishes. That racing ability is the next step.

Scott will work on that with him this year. He's gaining experience – his first Diamond League, strong Asian Championship performances – and he's going from strength to strength.

Jyothi Yarraji suffered an ACL rupture after defending her Asian title. What is the update on her recovery?

She's doing well. It's been a wild year – the high of winning the Asian Championships and then a freak training accident that ruptured her ACL six months ago.

Now she's in a good place. She's positive, she's starting low-level strides on grass, and her strength is improving.

We don't follow strict timelines. We follow a criteria-based rehabilitation model. Once she can run on grass, we let her run on the track. Once she can run on the track, we speed it up. Then we put her in spikes. She earns each step.

We're hopeful about the Commonwealth Games, but we're realistic that it might not happen. It's an early target to keep focus and intensity.

The Asian Games is the big aim, and thankfully that's later in the year. It's a serious injury, so we have to be patient while pushing her at the right times.

She's handled it incredibly well. She's stronger now than she's ever been because she's had time to work on areas she never could before. Fingers crossed she comes back at the same level or even beyond.

Looking back at 2025 – 88 medals, six national records, first World Championship sprinters – was this the best year yet for Reliance Foundation athletics?

It's a really good question because I initially thought we'd had a bad year. When I reflected, I realised we'd actually had a really good year.

That just shows how far we've come and how expectations keep rising.

Even something like the relay medal at the World University Games was significant. India had never won a relay medal at a global level before.

We keep breaking barriers, but I'm never satisfied. We always want more. Our expectations keep shifting and evolving, and they have to.

One of the biggest successes of our programme isn't always our athletes – it's the athletes we don't coach. They're watching, learning, and having to be better because they want to beat our guys.

I genuinely want India to become a world power in athletics. There's no reason why we can't, but everyone has to work collaboratively – the private sector, government, federations.

Are these results laying the foundation for LA 2028? How far ahead are you planning?

We're on the pathway to 2028. I try not to think too far ahead, but we've put it out there.

For most of our athletes, we look at three levels – qualification, top-eight, or medal. Then we work backwards to see what they need over the next three years.

That includes indoor and outdoor competitions, exposure camps, and training alongside Olympic champions.

Even competitions that aren't the primary priority are taken very seriously. They help maintain urgency and focus.

The Asian Games are the main target for most athletes this year, but it's still ten months away. That's why competitions like Asian Indoors are so important – they sharpen acceleration, early race phases, and competitive intent.

You often talk about the need for better competition exposure. What would an ideal competition calendar look like?

The calendar is what it is – we have to accept that. The key is matching the right competitions to the right athletes.

We create individual plans. Some athletes peak three times a year – for example Asian Indoors, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games – and we reverse-engineer competition blocks around that.

Lower-pressure competitions like Indian Grand Prix meets can be used as very specific training. You can practise qualification formats, back-to-back competition days, travel fatigue, even poor sleep.

That preparation matters because you can't win a medal if you don't make the final. Athletes need to rehearse what the big competition will look like.

There also needs to be flexibility. Elite athletes don't always gain value from procedural competitions like state championships. Sometimes a higher-quality meet elsewhere is better.

Are there plans to expand or replicate the Reliance Foundation high-performance model beyond Mumbai and Odisha?

It's something I'd love to do, but it's very challenging. You need the right staff, the right centre, and the right partners – usually a state government.

In Mumbai, we're essentially a finishing school. But we recognise there's a big gap between grassroots and elite in India.

We're trying to bridge that in three ways: bringing in slightly younger athletes, offering remote monitoring and education-based camps, and running development clinics.

We recently hosted 25 junior athletes in Mumbai, and it restored my faith in the talent in this country.

We also want to support coaches – through mentoring, remote support, and potentially coach education seminars. Our aim is outreach and ecosystem improvement, even if we can't coach everyone full-time.

Finally, with India hosting major events and eyes on Olympic success, is RF's setup ready to deliver medals on home soil?

We're certainly working toward it. We're not a finished product, but we are delivering a truly world-class programme.

We build performance triangles around athletes – collaboration, communication, and consistency.

No country can do everything domestically. Athletes need exposure abroad, and coaches need exposure too.

We also have to challenge the belief that Indian athletes can't compete often. Whether it's real or perceived, it has to be addressed.

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Flexibility is key. In elite athletics, you build the system around the athlete, not the other way around.

As long as the athlete is good enough, we'll do whatever we can – bring in support, send them abroad, or adapt the system – to help them succeed.

Source: News18
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